The new Paramount movie "Hansel and Gretel - witch hunters" will soon make it's debut in theaters around the world.

Great plot - the children that killed the witch, 15 years later. Now they make a living doing what they learned back then - hunting witches. In Germany.

Look at the weapons - multi shot crossbows, steampunkish shotguns, even a gatling gun! Not historically fitting, but who cares - witches are fictional as well.
And look at how they kill witches - beheading them, or burning them down. Inspiring.

So I am thinking about designing rubber based weapons that could be useful for witch hunting. Hmmm. I have a few ideas already...

Stink bombs are standard issue items for naughty boys all over the world. These little glass containers are filled with chemicals designed to disgust. They smell so bad that usually, who ever throws them has to run away, too.

Based on an idea from a commenter,I added a new dimension to stink bombs - a specifically designed launcher, what else!

The "Stink Master 2000" is a breech loading pump action slingshot crossbow that can shoot a stink bomb 80 to 100 meters far - well outside of the reach of the smell. It allows the anonymous and stealthy usage of the fearsome objects.

Flying at 90 miles per hour, the stinky projectiles can also be shot with good accuracy... see for yourself.

As a bonus, a new version of the poison injecting arrow is shown. This time, it comes as a tip for full size arrows. See how cherry juice is ejected with tremendous pressure on impact of the heavy arrow!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

It can be recognized easily, as it is 12,4 cm wide rather than the previous 13,8 cm.

I tested it immediately (but not with the chrony as it is darlk already).

The new type is also thinner (0,67mm vs. the old 0,89mm). But the new type clearly is more dense, with 0,958 g/cm3 vs. 0,828 g/cm3 of the old type.

I then tested the draw weights.

Interesting: The new type can be stretched to factor 7 (600%), the old one ends at 6,5 (550%).

The average draw weight of the new type compared to the old is 74%.

What does this mean?

Well, it is quite clear.

A new formula has been used, simply because the density of the new rubber is 16% higher. Also you can see that it stretches 8% more.

The new rubber is less wide and less thick, so you have to use more rubber to achieve the same draw weight. Use the factor 1,35 for cutting the new bands. So if you used to cut 3cm (fork) x 2 cm (pouch), now you should cut 4 cm x 2,7 cm.

Is it more powerful? It should, just by looking at the data. More dense, longer max. elongation. But the chrony will speak the truth.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The syringe based poison arrow looked nice, but I haven't been satisfied with the amount of liquid it ejects when it hits the target. The pressure of the liquid that is squeezed through the thin needle is too high, it does not allow a quick enough discharge.

So I made my own "syringe" arrow!

I heat shrinked and glued on a piece of aluminum tube (7mm outer, 6mm inner diameter) onto one of the commercial bolts. Then I turned the tip from massive aluminum.

The tip is hollow until about 18mm from the tip (3mm longitudinal hole), at which point four 2mm holes are drilled through the tip. The rear part of the tip is turned down to fit precisely into the aluminum tube. It is now the plunger! A bit of epoxy at the back of the "plunger" makes it fitting 100%.

The four holes 18mm behind the tip are covered with a rubber band. If you fill the syringe with liquid, it does not leak.

The idea is that if the tip penetrates the flesh of an attacker, the rubber ring is shifted back by the tissue, opening the four holes. The inertia of the bolt pushes it forwards, pressing down on the plunger - and the poison is injected into the opponent.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

As the new James Bond movie has been released recently, I thought it is time to make a "007" slingshot.

It has to be a pistol, and it has to be small of course. I settled for arrows as those can be poisoned and are therefore potentially lethal, even without great power. But if course it has to be powerful enough - not so easy with such a short draw length!

So I settled for the smallest arrow shooter I ever came up with, and did a few sketches. This is also a good example how my "blueprints" usually look like - I am really not a very good engineer.

I cut out four pieces, twice from 9mm Multiplex (plywood), and twice from a 3,5mm thick MDF backpanel from an old cupboard that was in the trash.

I then sawed out the slots for the string, and glued the thin MDF boards in so that they would hold the arrow perfectly well.

This makes a perfect "barrel" without the next-to-impossible task to drill a straight hole through the entire weapon.

Next, I sawed out the "fork". This is made to hold tubular bands, looped, with the knot-in-tube attachment method. The paired 5mm holes at both fork ends are for the paracord that will later hold the tubes. The larger holes to the left and right of the "barrel" are for the cocking device - this needs extremely strong bands, you can't draw those with your hands.

Next came the trigger/lock part. Sawed it out of Multiplex, thinned it down to 7mm. It always amazes me how strong that material is! It easily holds 115 lb draw force. Of course I stabilized it with screws so the layers won't come apart, and also I polished the sear so the string won't chafe badly later on.

This trigger is easy and works great. You just have to make sure the joint is in line with the string, then the construction does work even without any spring or rubber band - the draw weight alone keeps it in place.

After everything was functional, I made the cocking device - a fork that you push in from the muzzle, then you lean against a wall and press forward until the sear engages.

Then the rounding and the finishing - linseed oil. I banded it up with Thera Tube Silver, doubled of course. 115 lb draw.

It shoots fantastic! This only weighs 280 Gramms (0,6 lb), loaded including the rubber and arrow. It actually shoots as hard as my commercially made crossbow pistol - but it is much smaller. True James Bond style.

It is also very very accurate - thanks to the barrel that guides it perfectly well.

This may be the cutest little slingshot toy I made so far - I am really happy the way it came out.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

With a small delay, here is the official 2012 The Slingshot Channel Halloween Special!

I thought a folding machete would make a good Halloween weapon. I used a five Euro machete from my local discount hardware store, replaced the handle with a piece of marine grade plywood, then I made handle with a strong rubber powered blade blocking mechanism (Laguoile style).

It works quite good! The looong handle turns the machete into a far mor efficient weapon, and allows Zombie decapitations from a far longer distance.

As the blade does not fully lock (but won't accidentially fold), the knife can be carried in public here in Germany with no permit and for no specific reason.